Why does my dog's stomach bloat and cause discomfort sometimes?

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would recommend getting Shiro into your veterinarian at some point to get him evaluated. Intermittent hard, painful abdomen could indicate something more serious in an adult dog. Given though Shiro is eating fine, with no vomiting/diarrhea and acting normally now, I would call your veterinarian and make an appointment for some time soon. They will do a full physical exam and likely recommend diagnostics like xrays and bloodwork. That may help in getting an answer with what is going on with Shiro. Good luck.

It definitely does look bloated. It could be from eating a large meal or from intestinal parasites (worms). I would have your vet take a look a him. They will likely want to do a fecal on him to check for worms and if needed, they will deworm him. I hope this helps!

Hello, sorry to hear about Draco. It sounds like he may be having mild sings of an upset stomach. You can continue to monitor him for any vomiting, diarrhea, inappetence, or lethargy. If you note any of these, then he should be evaluated by a veterinarian. Otherwise, you can feed him a bland diet of plain white rice, skinless, and boneless boiled chicken, and low fat cottage cheese. If he has any other signs including panting, persistent vomiting, or retching and if his stomach becomes severely distended very fast, then he should be seen on emergency basis by a veterinarian. Hope this helps and best of luck.

As long as she is acting ok you could monitor her for additional signs. If she starts retching, seems uncomfortable, starts drooling, is painful, or the distension persists then she should be examined by a vet. Your vet can take an X-ray to evaluate her abdomen and determine the exact cause of her problem.

Poor girl. She may have an overly full stomach or potentially an enlarged organ. It is really hard to say for sure without an exam. Pets this small don't get bloat, so that is not a concern. Based on her symptoms of just seeming uncomfortable, I would let her rest tonight and then if she still seems out of sorts in the morning, it is best to get her seen by your vet. The vet needs to feel her belly to try and pinpoint the source of pain and discomfort so that we best know how to treat this moving forward. She sounds uncomfortable but stable for now and so the best thing is to make her comfortable with nice soft bedding let her try and rest until morning. If she will tolerate a warm Epsoms salt soaking bath, then you can also try that. However, if she does seem to pace and develop more symptoms (vomiting, restlessness, diarrhea, etc) tonight, then its best to take her to an ER vet for further evaluation. I hope that Doba continues to improve her condition. Best of luck moving forward. Take care.

Poor Coco! That much distension in the stomach can indicate fluid (ascites) in the abdomen or an enlarged abdominal organ like the liver. These problems can develop secondary to heart disease, liver failure, low protein levels, severe GI parasites, and cancer. I'd recommend taking Coco to see a veterinarian right away as he needs blood work and X-rays to know why this is happening. This is a true medical emergency as many of the causes of a distended stomach can be life threatening. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I am hoping Coco has an easy recovery!

8 week old puppies, even large breed ones, have pretty tiny stomachs, and they also have poor abdominal musculature development at this stage. Those 2 factors can cause you to really be able to see their abdomen bulging when the stomach is full or water or food. So that might be one reason you're seeing this. The other reason could be that Mishka has intestinal parasites. They are very common in young puppies, so if she hasn't been dewormed, this should be done, at least twice (3 - 4 weeks apart). It's also a good idea to have your vet check a stool sample. You can buy dewormer over the counter in most pet stores; follow the directions on the package.